The Whiskey Au Go Go fire was a fire that occurred at 2.08 am on Thursday 8 March 1973, in the Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Australia that killed 15 people.
The building
The Whiskey Au Go Go nightclub occupied the first floor of a building which still exists on the corner of Amelia Street and St Paul's Terrace. The space was previously occupied by another club called the Celebrity Cabaret which closed due to financial pressures. Seeing an opportunity, band manager John Hannay approached the Little brothers (Brian and Ken) and suggested they rent the vacant space for a new nightclub. They did so in March 1972 and named the new cabaret the Whiskey Au Go Go.
Extortion threats
John Andrew Stuart, a career criminal, was sent to jail in 1966 for the attempted murder of fellow criminal Robert Steele. After his release from prison in New South Wales in July 1972, he returned to his hometown of Brisbane and immediately started vague rumors of criminals from Sydney wanting to extort nightclubs in Brisbane. He told this both to reporter Brian Bolton and Detective Basil Hicks. At the end of 1972, he gave specific intelligence to Bolton stating an empty club would be firebombed first and then a second, Whiskey Au Go Go, would be firebombed when it was full of people. Bolton wrote numerous newspaper articles and personally notified the police commissioner and police minister of the threat.
Building fire
Stuart's warning was verified when an empty club, Torinos, was destroyed by arson on 25 February 1973.
The Whiskey Au Go Go was firebombed in the early hours of 8 March 1973 with fire begun by the ignition of two drums (four and five gallons) of petrol in the building's foyer. When ignited the burning petrol sent carbon monoxide up to the club's main room on the first floor. The only escape route was the rear stairs which were poorly signposted and cluttered with crates of bottles. The club has been described as a deathtrap.
About 50 patrons, bar staff, and entertainers had been in the club at the time of ignition. Some escaped by jumping from broken windows onto an awning and dropping 4.5m to the ground. Others escaped via the windows in the men's and women's changing rooms.
Patrons had difficulty escaping due to the large quantities of grease that covered the escape path and the 1.8m high fence which blocked the side alley. The persistent rumors that the escape was deliberately greased by the arsonist(s) are untrue. The practice at the club was to place used cooking oil containers against the wall of the escape route. These were upended in the stampede and the fats spread by foot as the patrons fled.
Victims
The fire resulted in the deaths of 15 people. They had died of carbon monoxide poisoning and were dead before firefighters arrived. Of the six person band Trinity, two musicians were killed. Three staff members and ten patrons were also killed.
Investigation
On the Saturday after the fire the Queensland Government had offered a $50,000 reward for information on the bombing. Based on Stuart's foreknowledge of the fire, he was the number one suspect. As the police had insufficient evidence to arrest him, as he had an alibi at the time of the fire, the police fabricated evidence that he threatened someone with a knife. He was duly arrested. James Richard Finch was subsequently arrested at the suburban Jindalee shopping centre.
In 1966, Finch had been sentenced to 14 years prison after being found guilty of malicious wounding with a firearm and carrying an unlicensed pistol. Finch had fired two shots during an altercation near a petrol station in Oxford Street, Paddington, Sydney, injuring two men. Finch gave Stuart the offending firearm post shooting and the two career criminals had known each other for at least seven years before. At the trial, Finch was described by police as "an active young criminal and associate of the most violent criminals in Sydney." Finch had been paroled after serving seven years of that sentence.
Immediately after their arrest, both loudly protested their innocence at their first court appearance. It was reported that there was commotion in the dock when the men were brought before the Brisbane Magistrates court after their arrest for arson and 15 counts of murder. Stuart was restrained by six detectives while Finch was relatively quiet and restrained by one detective. During this hearing Finch claimed he was innocent, that on his arrest police had presented him with a prepared written confession, and had beaten him.